Phoenixes
by Mellovesall
Summary: My collection of Caryl one-shots. Their ratings will range from T through M.
1. Chapter 1

"Do You Feel Me?"

A/N: my first Caryl fic, please be gentle with me. lol. I would have loved to have seen something like this happen in 6x15.

####

The abandoned barn shook from the pounding of the rain and the relentless wind of the invading rainstorm. Mother nature's violence matched the volatile emotions that were swirling around, causing the chaos, in Carol's mind. A circled 18. She had been numb for weeks. 18. Numb until…now.

Numbness helped her cope after the Wolves had attacked, but then the anger had came. Hot, white and all encompassing. She had clung to the numbness, holding tight to not just the religious rosary in her hand, but to the gray of the numbness, preferring to feel nothing since that day. Only her thoughts, that were her enemies now when they strayed to those she cared for, the anger surged.

She was angry at the world. She was angry at herself. She was a threat. She could get someone killed. She couldn't trust herself with the safety of her family.

She thought she had long ago accepted that this was what it was to be like now. That this was life. That there was no hope for more than to survive and to keep her "family" alive.

But to have humans kill humans. Not to eat. Not to protect their own or to survive, but senseless, senseless killing. It broke the last of her fragile hold on herself.

And then she had been asked to decide one more time. What was she willing to do for her family to survive? What was she willing to do? 18. The numbness had allowed her to calmly step through the logic Rick set forth as she quietly bled out the last of her humanity. She gathered the pieces of herself one last time and helped Rick. She now had nothing left to give. She was dead weight.

She blinked as the thunder rumbled above the deserted building. At least the rain would destroy her tracks and Daryl, god, her chest hurt as his name whispered through her mind, wouldn't be able to find her.

She prayed, something she hadn't done since Sophia was lost, that he hadn't followed after her. That he didn't put himself and the rest of the group in jeopardy. Not for her.

She cleared the isolated remnants of the barn and turned at the cracking of the door wide open. With her arm raised, the edge of her knife glinting as she tightened her hold on it, her body braced itself for a fight.

Lightning flashed wildly highlighting a silhouetted profile that she would know anywhere. Daryl's bow was aimed right at her as he walked through the door.

He was soaked to the bone and looked as mad as hell. She had seen him in protection mode. She had seen him lost at the loss of their family. She had seen him filled with fight at the injustice of their life, but she had never seen him like this.

His rage was palpable and it vibrated and pulsed as he stood in front of her not saying a word.

Carol rushed around him to shut the barn door against the wild elements and held it closed as Daryl found a wooden board to bolt it closed. As the wood slid into place the only sound in the room was the storm losing its mind outside. Carol placed her hands against the door and rested her forehead against the old grains.

She shivered as she felt him looking down at her. Drops of rain water fell from his face as he stared at her. His puffs of breath erratic and full of pain. She knew she had hurt him. She hadn't meant to.. never him.

She was feeling so much it was overwhelming. She was so angry that he had followed her. He could have died doing that. She told them not to. Why!

She turned to him then and pushed at his chest. It was a losing battle. He didn't move an inch at her attack.

"I told you not to follow me!" She shoved at him and pushed at his chest. "I never asked for anything. And I asked for that!" She made the mistake of looking up at him then and she witnessed him break into a thousand pieces.

As she punched at his chest and her tears fell unchecked, he dropped his bow on the ground and grabbed her by her arms. She froze. Tracks of her tears showing him how much this moment meant to her. Daryl rarely touched her and when he did, never in harshness. It stunned her.

"Why? You askin' me that?" He growled back at her as his hands clenched around her arms. His hands felt like they were on fire as they seared her skin.

"What the hell, woman,"

"You and me, Carol. We ain't never had a goodbye. Never.. Not with you being banished and me with Merle…we ain't never had a chance to say goodbye."

####

Daryl couldn't believe his luck at finding her. He had thankfully spotted the barn before the rain started and washed her trail away.

He tried to catch his breath as she stood so small, pounding her anger and her fears against his body. He knew she was hurting. She was afraid she could no longer protect them. That she could no longer offer them any strength. Or a badly needed hand at battle. But what she didn't understand was those things weren't her only worth.

"Damn it, Carol. You don't get to leave me," Daryl yelled at her.

Hours of worrying about her out in the world by herself with no one to watch her back with the Negan people swarming the area caught up with him. Hours of worrying that he wouldn't find her and hours of worrying that he would and she would be dead or worse, undead.

When he heard from Rick that she had left them. He lost his mind. Everything went dark. That she had snuck away without a word to anyone, without a word to him, had crippled Daryl with hurt. So much hurt at not being able to say goodbye to her. To say words that lived in his heart. Where it kept it pumping and warm with humanity. Words only meant for her.

"You don't," he repeated as his harsh grip on her arms loosened and he gathered her in his arms. He knew he was soaking wet but he didn't care. He just needed to hold her. To make sure she was real and with him.

After a moment he could feel her arms sneak around his waist and she hugged him close. He couldn't tell where she ended and he started. They breathed as one.

She spoke into his shirt and he couldn't hear over the storm and the rushing of blood through his body.

He placed his fingers under her chin and tipped her face up and cupped it in the cradle of his palms. His fingers slid into the strands of her short hair as his thumbs gently stroked across her cheeks.

He wasn't going to hide anymore. She needed to know how much she meant to him. How much he loved her and couldn't bare to lose her.

"If I had gone to you, I wouldn't have been able to leave….I'm so sorry,"

"Stay with me, Carol. You're mine and I'm yours. Do you feel what I'm tellin' you?"

"Daryl?"

"Ya feel me?" He whispered as he lowered his lips to within inches of hers and looked into her eyes till he saw that she understood. Till he saw her joy and her love for him shine back. Till he kissed her.


	2. Chapter 2

"The Warmth Of Autumn"

A/N: A private Caryl moment is seen by a friend.

####

The morning was cool and slightly damp as the seasons transitioned. The forest that surrounded the campsite was a kaleidoscope of warm burnt oranges, rich golds and reds. For a moment the aesthetic beauty made Michonne forget the ugliness of the state of their world.

The group was packing up to move to an area that Rick and Daryl had scouted out the day before. It was twenty miles from their current camp near a river with animal life still noticeable.

Michonne's eyes were drawn to the similar fall colors of Daryl's poncho as he buckled his bag to the side of his motorcycle and turned to mount it. He sat down and kicked up the stand as he revved the machine to life.

Her lips turned up in a smirk as she realized her body still enjoyed the look of an attractive man astride a machine of chrome and raw power.

Carol walked towards Daryl and his bike and shared a gentle, quiet smile with him that was hidden quickly as she put her head down.

Michonne felt like she wasn't meant to have seen that private exchange. The air vibrated not only with the power of Daryl's bike engine, but with the chemistry that was always around those two. It just seemed to be stronger this morning.

Call it woman's intuition, but Michonne knew something had changed between the two and she was excited for them.

They had been solid friends offering each other support and a bond that was beautiful to see. It was a friendship she wished she would find one day. And she hoped they had moved even closer to a love that would be a complete partnership.

Carol placed her hand on Daryl's shoulder as she climbed on behind him.

Well, well, well. Now that was a wonderful sight to see.

As Carol made herself comfortable on the bike, her hands slipped under the soft material of his poncho looking for a nice firm spot on his body to hold unto.

Daryl placed his hand over his heart, where Michonne assumed one of Carol's hands rested, and squeezed it for a moment before putting both of his hands on the bike's metal bars and waited for the caravan to form.

That was all the world was allowed to see and it was a statement. Discreet, but screaming completion, ownership and love. They were together now and everything would be alright. They would be alright.


	3. Chapter 3

"A Stillness"

A/N: This is a speculation fic. Just my thoughts after the finale and who we may have lost and the effect it would have on others.

####

The hum of the cicadas' mating call and the crackling wood of the small campfire, near the deserted edge of the camp of people Carol and Morgan now called friends, was as familiar to the hunter in Daryl as the woman who sat beside him.

He would always be grateful to Carol's new group. They had saved her. They had brought her back from the brink in more ways than just physical.

He had stumbled upon her today, six months after Negan had taken over and his group was forced to work for him, in what felt like a lifetime from Alexandria.

Daryl couldn't believe she was here. He was afraid to speak in case he woke from this beautiful dream. Because he only ever saw her in his dreams now.

There was a stillness between them. Not a gulf or a chasm because they would never have that, never, but rather a fragile wall of getting reacquainted. A delicate dance of reluctance to give the other any more pain. And pain there would be in their journeys to the present.

So much had happened since she had left Alexandria and Daryl wasn't sure if he had anything left in him to tell her about it all.

To tell her how they had lost Michonne. How when he could finally sift through the dark images of the night they met Negan, that the memory he chose to hold onto the most was Michonne's strength.

With her last seconds of life she had looked that bastard right in the eye with a symbolic fierce, "fuck you." Yeah, that's what Daryl held onto.

Not the screams. Not Rick hugging Carl, shielding him from the horrifying attack on his beloved friend and his father's love. Not the moans and sounds of the bat making contact with and breaking flesh and bone. No, Daryl only held onto her strength. And that's what allowed him to forgive himself.

Michonne's death had given them all another day to breathe. Another day to love each other. She had given Daryl this day...the day he found Carol again.

With the brutal loss of Denise and Michonne and then the emptiness Carol's leaving had left behind, came the understanding that the most important thing now was to be there for the ones who were alive. To care for and live for the living and to honor the sacrifices of those he had lost. This was Daryl's truth. He would never leave his family again. They were his.

The low embers of the fire cast a soft shade of amber across Carol's profile as Daryl looked her over. His instinct to make sure she was okay was still as strong as it was the day their bond first formed. Her body was more relaxed, but not soft. She'd never be soft again. She was a badass ready for anything, yet she was different. She seemed to have found some peace.

She looked up at him then with those eyes that never pierced. They only ever enveloped him with her acceptance of who he could be. Who he was meant to be. Who he was.

"You okay?" Daryl asked, as she gently smiled at him.

"I am now," she whispered as she reached out and took his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers as the sound of her voice, so long not heard, healed Daryl's Carol starved heart.


	4. Chapter 4

"Falling"

A/N: Takes place at the end of 2x5 which is one of my favorite episodes. Merle's words are in bold.

######

Daryl listened to the soft sounds of Carol's footsteps as she walked back downstairs to rejoin the group for dinner.

His chest felt so tight from the impact of her words and the look in her eyes. Her eyes that held a sadness mixed with an inner strength he watched grow with every day she held onto her hope for her little girl. Those beautifully expressive eyes.

He could hardly breathe. He swallowed down the emotion that he didn't recognize. It was foreign. It confused him.

She had thanked him. No one ever thanked him for anything.

The empty room felt colder without her. He pulled the bed sheet up around his neck as his body shivered. He wished she hadn't left.

 ****Hey, little brother, you're just a freak to them….**

Merle's words echoed from the place they always occupied in Daryl's mind. The place that made him hesitate to open himself to anyone or anything. The place that owned him for better or for worse. It still owned him. He needed to remember who he was.

 *****Redneck trash is what you are….**

That's all he'd ever been. It's who he was.

She'd brought him dinner. She'd thought of him.

Daryl's body was breaking down. The day that he'd survived was catching up to him. Flashes of what happened pounded at him like the fresh wounds on his head and his side.

He'd almost died by the creek.

He'd almost died from Andrea's gunshot.

He'd almost died.

Someone cared. She cared. Carol.

 *****One of these days they're gonna scrape you off their heels like you were dogshit**

He closed his eyes against his brothers words.

 _***You need to know something….You did more for my little girl today then her own daddy ever did his entire life…_

His heart ached. It bled through the small cracks made by a mother's love for a missing child and a scarred man's journey towards his light.

 *****They're laughing at ya behind your back…**

 _****You're every bit as good as them..._

"Nah, Merle. No more," Daryl whispered to himself as exhaustion won and shielded him away from the poison of his brother. It cocooned him within dreams of what it felt like to be cared for.

 _***Every bit..._


	5. Chapter 5

" **Hold On To The Good"**

####

A conversation with Glenn a week before had brought a date to Daryl's attention.

Glenn still wound both Dale and Hershel's watches every morning as small tributes to friends long gone. Dale's wrist watch showed not just the date, but the month and so time still held significance.

Daryl hadn't really held any deep appreciation for the day growing up with just Merle and his dad. It was like any other day to them and whether that was deliberate because of the pain or disdain that remembering brought, he didn't know.

His father and Merle never spoke of it. They never spoke of...her.

Today was Mother's Day.

As Daryl thought back to his time with his mother, he realized he could still remember the color of her hair and the fact that she enjoyed peppermint candies. He tried not to remember how she died. He just concentrated on memories that didn't hurt.

So, while walking the perimeter on a safety check that morning; he pulled a few yellow marigolds from where they lazily swayed in the breeze of Alexandria and put them in a glass of water, and placed them on the counter in Carol's kitchen.

She may not realize why pretty yellow flowers greeted her that day, but a mother should be remembered.


	6. Chapter 6

"Taking Chances"

M-rated

#####

Daryl had been asked to go on a run with Carol, through a large nature preserve, miles west of Alexandria. On the far side of the woods was a town that they hoped would yield some supplies. It had been a long week that only told them what they expected. The town was picked clean.

During that time, Carol had been unusually quiet even by Daryl's standards. They could communicate pretty much with just their body language and looks, but she was usually the talker between the two.

Her body was tense. Some days it wouldn't be and then others it would. Whatever she was going through she was fighting with it. Daryl knew she'd tell him in her own time and then maybe not. They both held secrets now. And perhaps it was for the best. He wasn't sure she would like some of the private thoughts he had, of...her.

At first he hadn't really known what to call the feelings he had for Carol. He knew she was his family. She and Rick were his closest friends. And he knew his life was.. less, without her in it. He knew that first hand. He had lost her enough times to know. When he thought she had died with T-Dog and then when Rick banished her. His life had been...so much less. Today, his feelings for her were called, everything.

He watched her go still.

"What is it?"

"I think I see our camp for the night," she replied as she pointed to the top of a forest ranger tower that peeked through the trees a mile ahead.

It would be nice not to sleep on the damp ground.

They were still drying off from a rainstorm that came through an hour earlier. It had been refreshing against their heated bodies and allowed them to replenish their water supplies.

The tower looked steady as they neared it. Both of them able to climb the metal ladder that Daryl was able to pull down from where it rested a few feet above.

They cleared the abandoned tower office then sat down on the edge of the observation deck looking out over the beauty of the forest below. It was a rare moment of safety and peacefulness.

Daryl watched her from where they sat next to each other; both leaning against the tower wall. He knew she could feel him staring. He turned to look over the landscape as she remained quiet. She may never tell him what she was dealing with, but at least she knew he was there. Unless he was dead, he would always be there for her.

"I'm afraid to tell you," she whispered and he turned back to look at her. She met his eyes with ones full of unease and a little fear. He didn't like to see her unsettled and afraid. What was going on?

"You can tell me anything,"

"Not everything. You don't tell me everything," It wasn't an accusation, she simply made a statement. And it was true. But some things were best left unsaid, weren't they?

He nodded back. Not denying the truth she spoke.

"Don't mean you can't tell me what's been eat'n you up. What's got you afraid,"

He could hear her sigh as her fingers picked at the damp frayed end of her shirt. She looked everywhere but at him.

"I can't lose you. I can't lose what we have. You're too important to me,"

"You'd never lose me,"

"I might,"

At his silence she turned her body to face him. Her knees touching his hip.

He braced at her touch. Not because it was uncomfortable, but because her touch always made him crave more. He had always known she was different from everyone else in his life. He never wanted to run from her. He always wanted to run towards her.

He held her gaze as he watched her finally come to a decision. Her hand hovered in the air till she gently placed it over his.

"I...do you ever want more? she asked breathlessly. He could feel her hand shaking and it tore at his heart. She was trying to be brave and tell him something. The least he could do was be brave right back and try to be a good friend. He gave into his need to touch her and turned his palm over to hold her hand in his.

"Want more of what?"

"Of me?" She said it so low that he almost didn't hear it. Her eyes reflected so much of what she was feeling. Fear, hope, warmth. Was she telling him that she wanted him? He had never dared to hope that she felt that way about him. He knew she cared and that she would fight for him till the day they died, but that she wanted him like a woman would want a man; he never dared dream. It was too painful.

She started to pull away at his silence. No, no, no. He was messing this up.

"Yes,"

They both sat there stunned at his answer.

"Yes...I...ain't good with words. Yes, I want. Always have. I just never thought you'd want me back,"

Daryl's heart was racing so fast. He couldn't catch his breath as he watched her face transform.

God, did she know how beautiful she was? Even more so when she looked at him like she was. She was smiling. He did that. He made her happy. Him. Awkward loner Daryl made her happy. He swelled with pride. She always made him feel good about himself. Made him feel special.

Her eyes welled up with tears as she nodded "yes," and she slowly cupped the side of his face.

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. Her thumb rubbed against his cheek as she bent forward and placed her forehead against his. They both savored the moment of finally being able to show each other how much they truly meant to each other.

Her quickening breath mingled with his and then he felt the lightest touch on his lips. She'd kissed him. Soft and gentle. Love me, kiss me, touch me was said so eloquently without words.

That's all it took and every one of Daryl's walls came tumbling down. An animalistic growl escaped him as he captured her mouth and kissed her back. His fevered need and his want driving her head back as he reached for her face. He pulled her closer as she moaned and opened her lips to him.

He was on fire and he was lost. He didn't know what he was doing, but it felt so good. She felt so good. She pushed back and climbed into his lap to sit astride his muscular thighs.

"Is this okay?" she whispered, her pupils blown with lust, against his lips as she stared into his eyes. She was invading his person. His space. Was he okay with that?

"Yeah, I'm good," his words said against her mouth as his hand cupped the back of her head and he took her lips again. Her taste exploded on his tongue as it tangled with hers.

He lost all sense of time and space. There was only her. Her scent, the sounds she was making that were sexy as hell and the softness of her body. Her nails dug into the skin of his neck as she tried to get closer to him. The exquisite pain bringing him back to his senses. He pulled back from her; both of their chests heaving for air.

He didn't have much experience with women so he tried to slow himself down. To think of what she would like.

He held her gaze as his shaking fingers moved wisps of her hair to the side. He was trying to be gentle when all he wanted to do was be inside her. Hard. Fast. Always.

She cupped his hand against her hair then pulled it down along the curve of her face. She was showing him what she wanted. Her hips unconsciously began to move over the hard bulge that was quickly growing bigger under her ass, as she guided his hand down the side of her neck to the opening of her shirt.

At the movement of her hips he instinctively pushed up against them. The friction and rub of their bodies, still fully clothed, was intense and escalating. He swallowed hard as pleasure like he'd never known swept through him. His other hand skimmed down her back coming to rest on her lower back; pushing down and guiding their thrusts.

She continued moving his hand into the vee of her shirt, popping two buttons, placing it over her breast. Her hands dropped from his as he took over and molded and squeezed her plumpness. Her head fell back in a wave of ecstasy exposing the delicate line of her neck to his hungry mouth. He licked and sucked on her tender skin till he left his mark. She was his.

They rocked, hard, over and over, against each other till she moaned and shuddered in his arms. He rocked her one more time taking himself over the edge too.

Their bodies slowed. Relaxing into each other. Daryl hugged her close and they clung to each other.

"Next time, we try that without our clothes on. Okay?" she whispered into his ear before they both began to laugh.


	7. Chapter 7

"Reaching For You"

A/N: Set after the S6 Finale.

####

Daryl didn't have any energy left to open his eyes. He was so tired. Exhausted from everything and everyone.

He had pushed his body and his spirit, what was left of both, far enough to get him back to Alexandria. To get what remained of his group, home.

Carol was gone. It hurt him so badly to think of her.

Darkness surrounded him. It was thick, heavy and suffocating. His head moved uneasily, left to right, over his sweat drenched pillow. A fever was burning through his body, from Dwight's gunshot, bringing with it restless dreams.

...Cool lips kissed his forehead. They were soft and they soothed...they made him feel safe and he sank into a blissful sleep….

He was parched. His throat was dry and words became stuck and clung, not able to be voiced. He felt so heavy. So, very heavy.

…...Fingers gently trailed down the side of his face and across his flushed cheek. They eased his fears and unrest. He sighed as they brought him comfort…

He was hot and then he was cold. Flames and then ice. He was freezing and he couldn't stop the convulsions of trembling. They rippled through him uncontrollably. He was so cold.

…...a warm softness burrowed into his side and he turned toward its heat. His arms encircled it as it melted against his hardness. His body shamefully engulfed it; never wanting to let go…

50 miles away Carol woke with a start. Her fever finally breaking. Her body weak, but relaxed and alive like she had been held within strong loving arms.

A slideshow of forehead kisses and beautiful masculine angles under her fingers played slowly across her memory.

"Daryl," she whispered as she hugged the images against her chest trying to hold onto them as they begun to disappear. It had felt so real.


	8. Chapter 8

"You're All I See"

####

Daryl could see from the corner of his eye, Carol trying to shake off her exhaustion as she sat with him during their night watch.

The group had made camp for the evening, after walking for hours with minimal rest, on the eastern side of the mountain.

The fresh, crisp air filled Daryl's lungs as he took a deep breath then said, "Hey, sleep. I'll take first watch,"

"No, we're both on watch," Carol replied even as she stifled a yawn.

They both chuckled.

"Maybe for an hour. Wake me, okay?"

"Yeah," Daryl replied, as she placed her backpack on the ground next to his leg and laid her head on it. Strands of her hair touched his pants and he had to smile at noticing the pretty colors. Iridescent layers of silver and grey smoke, stood out against the dark threads of his jeans. She would always be the light against his darkness.

He snorted at his inner musings. When did he get so poetic?

Since the day a little girl went missing.

Memories of the dark days following Merle's disappearance, when Daryl had to decide to travel with people who didn't like nor trust him; who didn't want him around and who eventually became his family filtered through his mind. Carol wouldn't let him go then and she wouldn't let him go now. That knowledge warmed him. That certainty, set him ablaze. She'd never let him go.

Her body shifted in minute fits of restlessness. Her forehead scrunching up from dreams or most likely, nightmares. They all had them. The waking horrors always found their way into their subconscious. They could never hide.

Painful whimpers came from her lips and Daryl instinctively wanted to ease her pain. His hand hesitated over her head as he fought with his need to comfort her and not knowing how. Daryl didn't give comfort. Hell, he hardly touched another living soul. It had just never been his way.

But this was Carol and he couldn't bear for her to hurt.

He gently placed his hand on her shoulder and she instantly calmed at the comforting weight. Her breath steadied and her body relaxed.

She turned towards his hand and sighed as she rubbed her cheek against it.

She slept deeply after that and he didn't have the heart to wake her.

As the sun rose and the sky was painted with beautiful reds, yellows and pinks, Daryl missed it all. He only had eyes for curly tendrils of silver white.


	9. Chapter 9

"We Still Hold On"

A/N: Takes place some time after S3E6, Hounded.

####

The early morning quiet and its stillness somewhat soothed Carol's nerves. The horrific time spent trapped in the prison cell, with the sweltering heat and her claustrophobia, had her body still shaking.

She didn't want to close her eyes because it brought back the smell and the darkness of her "tomb." She couldn't sleep and found herself at first light walking out into the fenced in front yard of the prison where she took in deep, full breaths.

The memory and the pain that came with it of T-Dog's screams and sacrifice, for her, almost doubled her over. And her thoughts of Lori and what Carl and Maggie had gone through, they were all too much.

She stumbled, not knowing where she was going, till she closed in on the fresh line of graves at the end of the fence did she realize she knew exactly where she had headed. She had come to pay her respects to her friends. To thank one and make a promise, to protect a newborn child, to another.

She was confused at the number of new rickety, wooden made crosses in front of her. Until it hit her. They had made one for her.

Carol slowly sank to her knees as she looked over the care they had shown her as they "buried" family.

A tear silently rolled down her cheek as she recognized the dried remnants of a white flower that had curled in on itself and clung to the small circle of rocks that marked her grave. A Cherokee Rose.

"Daryl," she whispered as her heart ached for the man who had found her, carried her into the light and who cared more about her...than anyone had in a very long time.

She didn't quite know what to call their connection since...Sophia, but it warmed her with its simplicity. With its, beauty. With its, love.

She looked up at the now blazing sky and as her tears dried, she talked to her lost friends.


	10. Chapter 10

"Just, Gone"

A/N: Takes place during S3E6 Hounded

####

"She was just gone," the words he spoke about his own mother's demise, to Carl, echoed and haunted Daryl as he struggled to stay strong for those around him, Carl, Rick, the others….himself.

Daryl was dealing with the loss of Carol and by shoving the needs of those in front of him, who were alive..maybe, maybe he could forget his own anguish, for awhile.

He could still hear Rick's screams in the courtyard after the loss of Lori. The agony that beat on and engulfed all of them as Carl stood stoically, covered in blood; his mother's blood, in the middle of the maelstrom of pain.

Daryl never talked of his family and the life that shaped him, but Carl needed to connect with someone or something or he would be, adrift.

He knew this from personal experience and if he could help Carl, his "family" now, he'd try. It stabbed at his heart to open the heavily bolted lid of his memories and by doing so he knew he wouldn't be able to slam it back down so easily.

He told the boy about the day his mother burned and was gone. Erased. As if she hadn't been real.

And with Carl's admission of "I shot my Mom. It was real," Daryl had to fight to stay in the moment with him. Emotions battered away at his psyche and he grabbed onto his flashlight with all the strength he had left and...stayed.

Then when they cleared the walker and he found Carol's knife protruding from it, he wanted the walker to come back to life, so he could kill him again, over and over till he exhausted his anger and that's how he found himself sitting in the dark bloody hallway of solitary confinement.

He slammed Carol's knife against the stone of the ground as if it would absorb the hurt he was feeling. And he was hurt'in bad. Everywhere a memory of her lingered. His friend. His family. His...

Her small smiles, that seemed to appear most around him, had slowly come back after time had passed after they left the farm and summer had come. As Carol was able to learn to breathe again without Sophia. The loss of those smiles, for him, drove the knife harder against the wall and drove Daryl to stand and go kill the walker that had been pushing and pushing against the door of the nearby cell. The need of the "animal" in it to eat and shove at the door disgusted him. He was going to kill it...for her.

He pulled open the door, his weapon at the ready and…there she was. He couldn't believe it.

"Daryl," her voice thin and disbelieving just like his.

"Carol," he said as he bent closer and lifted her chin. "Are you hurt?"

"I..." she started to say before she choked up with emotion and her eyes drifted close.

"Shh, it's 'kay. I'm here. Gonna get ya out of here,"

She nodded, not having any energy to say or do more.

He bundled her into his arms, taking a moment to lay his cheek on her head, to feel her in his arms. She lay heavily against him. Her only movement being fingers fisting the material of his shirt tightly as if she feared he would disappear. It anchored her to him and him to her.

"I've got ya," he whispered as he carried her out of the hell hole. He had her.

She was here. She was real.


	11. Chapter 11

**"** **More"**

A/N: Established relationship. M-rated.

####

They walked quietly through the woods. It was pitch black and even the stars seem to be in hiding. Privacy had been non-existent and the newness of their relationship was still something they kept preciously to themselves.

Daryl had put his finger to his lips and held her hand as they secretly slipped away to a clustered rock formation that gave them safety from walkers and curious eyes.

They didn't speak with words, only with voracious kisses as they melted against each other. There was no time for softness or foreplay and because the previous week had gone by without any moments like this, they desperately helped each other unbuckle their pants and push the irritating fabric just low enough to free...what was needed.

Carol turned and greedily rubbed her buttocks against the length of him. She was already sopping wet from the anticipation and the explicit memories of their previous couplings.

Just remembering how Daryl felt when he was inside her was enough to turn her on.

He bent and positioned his cock at her slick entrance. She leaned against the granite in front of her as he...slid in...all the way in. She moaned and he cursed. Her inner depths scalding him as he pulsed and pushed.

He pulled back slowly and the friction was exquisite, but they were hungry and starved for each other. He pushed back in and quickly started a rhythm that was soon pounding into her with no finesse, only need. His thrusts going deep and jarringly hard.

Carol wanted to scream from the intensity of it. From the violence, pleasure and the frustration of not getting enough. She wanted. She needed, all of him.

She pushed her ass back, taking him even deeper as they both moaned from the shift in angle. His dick stretched her beyond what she had ever known. Beyond anything she had ever felt before.

She was unraveling and out of control. He did that to her. It felt, he felt, so good. Her eyes teared up as the intensity of her feelings for him overwhelmed her. He was such a beautiful man. Her man.

His teeth scraped along her neck as his arms held her in place. She knew there'd be bruises from his fingers, but she didn't care. She'd leave some of her own across his body before they were through.

"More," she pleaded across his lips after twisting her head back to find them.

He nodded back, grunted and pulled her closer as he let go. As he...loved her.


	12. Chapter 12

Caryl Game: 5 sentence fic.

###

A gentle finger, shaking with emotion and calloused from a hard life and the use of a bow, left a sensuous trail of scorching heat in the wake of its journey along the curves of Carol's face.

She slowly opened her heavy lidded eyes as wondrous sensations spread across her body, and met the darker blue of ones that reflected a kindred soul.

She reached for Daryl's wrist and turned her head to softly kiss his pulse point.

His heartbeat quickened under her tongue as she laved at his skin and watched as his pupils exploded with lust.

She basked in the astounding beauty of their passion and the love of her man


	13. Chapter 13

My entry for the Nine Lives Summer Survival Series for July 2016. Prompt - The Kingdom Come… Challenge! In the final episode of season 6, Last Day on Earth, we left Carol at death's door (thanks to a couple of Saviors) with Morgan her only companion, when along came two literal knights on horseback to save the day.

We want you to imagine what comes to be at The Kingdom, where we expect Carol to spend some time. How will she recover? What will she discover? Will Daryl show up? These are questions we'd love you to answer in this month's challenge.

####

"Her Heart"

Every time Carol surfaced, from the depths of pain that pulled her down and clawed at her so completely and to near complete destruction, everything ached. Everything hurt. And not just physically.

She thrashed and moaned as a fever raged through her body. Her heart, still fought on even when her mind and spirit had stopped wanting too.

A cool compress was placed across her clammy forehead and it felt, good. It soothed and eased the savaging of every cell of her body, till she fell back into oblivion.

Later, how much later she was unable to tell, a voice broke through to her from what felt like miles and miles away.

"Carol? Don't give up. People love you. They need you,"

She knew that voice. Who was it? She tried to remember.

Morgan. It was Morgan.

She groaned as wave upon wave of memories assaulted her. She remembered Morgan and what had come before...the horror that came before. The losses. Her "family." Her attempt to flee everything and everyone. Why hadn't she died? Why?

She had been ready to end it all. She had even screamed it at the man who wreaked vengeance upon her. Neegan's man whose people she had had to kill. She didn't want to be here.

She must have been crying because tiny, gentle fingers wiped wetness from her cheeks. Her brow scrunched up in confusion...a child's fingers?

She was so tired.

She had been trying to figure out something...what was it? Oh, tiny gentle fingers...that thread of thought, it was all she could hold onto as she fell back into a deep sleep.

She had no sense of time passing. Only chaotic fragments of memories and reactions.

The fog of her recovery was only just lifting as she heard the humming of a painfully familiar lullabye. One she had sung to Sophia when she was a child and one Carol's mother had passed on to her in the same fashion.

The innocent humming of a child? Was she dreaming or hallucinating? Either way, it made her remember Sophia and all the love and heartbreak of loss intertwined around her.

She turned away from it. It hurt too much. Too much. If she was destined to continue living...if she was forced to continue on...then she would do it without connections. No family. No love. It was the only way.

Seconds turned into hours, hours turned into days and they all had turned into weeks. Time ticked by till one morning Carol woke, not feeling anything. Nothing, only the heaviness of lost strength and the weight of a heart hidden, locked away and protected. She was cold. She was ice. She had to remain that way.

She took in her surroundings and tried to process the changes. She was laying on a military cot in a tent whose door flapped in the wind. She glimpsed green grass and people walking around. She didn't struggle to get up because in the corner of the tent Morgan sat in a chair, asleep.

He lived. She should be happy. She didn't feel anything.

She glanced back to the right as a small boy, about the same age as Sophia was when she died, with dark hair and weather tanned skin walked in through the flap of the tent.

A child the age of Sophia….

Carol breathed in deeply, fighting against the minute cracks spreading through the fragile barriers she had built up. She had to fight against the emotions. There was no place for them in her world. She squeezed her fingers into a tight fist, breaking skin as she fought to remain unfeeling.

The boy stopped abruptly as he realized she was awake. They both stared at each other as Carol was struck by the child's large, beautiful blue eyes. Eyes that showed the lessons they all had learned since their world ended. They were wary and soulful and they reminded her of another pair. No, don't go there. Don't feel. Please, don't let me feel anything.

They were so similar to the eyes of the man she loved. The man she left behind.

She wouldn't think of him. She couldn't survive if she thought of him. Concentrate on what is in front of you she whispered to herself. Don't look towards the past.

The boy stood rooted to the spot as he watched her inner turmoil. He must of made a decision because he slowly walked towards her cot and pulled a small soda can from behind his back that held several roses in it. Cherokee roses.

Carol watched as the boy came closer and placed the makeshift vase and flowers on the table near her face.

Her world tilted and...all was lost.

Her heart could not be denied.

She was burning alive with her love for Sophia and the man who meant everything to her. It consumed her.

She could no longer keep her emotions at at bay. Tears fell. So many tears.

The boy didn't know what to do as she came apart, but he seemed to understand that his thoughtfulness meant something profound to her. She held out her hand and after a moment of hesitation he placed it into hers.

Carol gently squeezed the small little hand. This child had not given up. He continued to reach out to others. His strength filled her.

She let him go. He nervously shifted on his feet then turned and left the tent.

"He's been worried about you," Morgan said, surprising Carol as he stood up and and went to sit at the edge of her cot. He didn't comment on her tears that he wiped away with a scratchy cloth that lay by the soda can on the small table top.

"Wh.." was all Carol could say with a voice that had not been used for weeks and full of fresh pain. Morgan offered a straw, in a glass of water, for her to sip from. She drank greedily as her body reached for nourishment.

"We're safe, Carol. The men who found us when you were shot brought us to their camp. They're good people. Especially the little guy you just met. He saw you when we first came to the camp and he's been helping me nurse you ever since. Some nights I had to send him away so he could rest. He's an orphan that the community took in not long after the outbreak. He had been surviving on his own in the woods till they had stumbled across him. Try and sleep now. You need to rebuild your strength,"

Carol tried to keep her eyes open, but she was too weak and drained.

This time though, she fell asleep with the knowledge that the people who meant the most to her would live in her forever. She should have known she couldn't run. That no matter where she went, no matter what she did, they were with her, always.


	14. Chapter 14

"Home"

A/N: s6 reunion

####

Neither of them moved. They stood, rooted to the spot, across from each other on an overgrown road in a clearing of the Kingdom's compound. The others, their "family", reunited, greeted and touched as they said their hellos. It was all background noise as Carol was pulled into yet another hug, her eyes glued to Daryl's.

It had been so long since they had all seen each other. Morgan and Carol long thought..just gone.

Too long...just gone.

There was no blame between the two of them. No anger. Only understanding. Only, love. Relief mixed with needs. Needs wanting to be fulfilled.

Carol walked towards him. Their eyes drinking in everything beloved about the other. Their hearts healing as their lost halves came back together. Their breaths accelerating from nervousness and fear.

Fear that it was a dream. Fear that the other would disappear again. That this moment wasn't really happening. Fear that they couldn't say what needed to be said.

She stopped inches from him. He wanted to take her in his arms, but he couldn't...he was overwhelmed, overcome, scared.

He could see every emotion he was feeling displayed across her face.

Carol slowly lowered her head and rested her forehead on his chest. The slight weight over his heart warmed him. He'd been so cold since the day he found out she was gone. He had been so very cold.

Daryl dropped his chin on her head then angled his face and rubbed it across the softness of her hair. He closed his eyes and breathed her. His hands cupped her face, finally touching what he loved, raising it towards his.

His fingers burned as his thumbs skimmed across her cheeks and she smiled up at him.

She was so beautiful.

Her hands reached for the back of his neck and with a gentle pull, brought his lips to hers. They sighed at the rightness of it. They were home.


	15. Chapter 15

"Take What Was Always Yours"

M-rated

####

Daryl couldn't stop shaking as everything he was feeling went intense white. He wasn't ashes, but he was definitely on fire. A glorious fucken inferno.

Carol's quick short breaths across his face, as they both tried to breathe through their heightened senses, was just as much a caress as what she was doing with her fingers.

Those agile fingers, that could both protect and soothe those she loved, were so warm and gentle as they erotically scratched down his chest and rock hard abs; to unbuckle his belt and slowly pull his pant's button loose.

It was overwhelming. It was incredible. And he was terrified. What if he did something wrong? What if she didn't like what he was doing? What if.."

"Hey," She whispered, distracting him from his inner chaos and fears, as she cupped the side of his face and her thumb gently ran along his succulent lower lip. "It's just you and me, Daryl. It's just me,"

"Mmm, I'm good," leaning his forehead against hers as she shifted her weight back from where she had been sitting snugly in his lap. His "borrowed" flannel shirt enveloped most of her nude curves except for where it bunched around her legs. His hands tightened into fists where they rested on the sides of her hips. Sexy, soft as satin skin that was now his to worship.

"Touch me," she said as she laid back on the bed and looked up at him with heat in her crystal blue eyes. He still couldn't believe she wanted him.

" 'kay," his voice trembling with reverence and the power of his need as he unclenched his fists and placed his hands on her knees. He slid them down the inside of her thighs causing her hips to buck from the sensations his calloused palms left as they trailed towards her center. Her wet beautiful center.

"Her" unbuttoned shirt lay open and her breasts peeked out from behind the flannel as her sensual movements shifted the shirt till she was exposed to him.

The feline beauty of her body held him transfixed. Her nipples were tight and her intimate folds glistened from what he was doing to her. From what he made her feel. He was stunned and turned on by the power he had.

She was fuck'n beautiful and she was his.

"Daryl, please," she said as her fingers clawed at his forearms as she tried to pull him toward her.

Daryl felt like everything was in slow motion and every time he moved he was in pain. Exquisite pain and he was going to burst before he even got in her.

He pulled his zipper down, releasing his member. It was so hard and full of need that it bobbed straight up. A low sound of excitement left Carol's lips as her legs curled around his waist and pulled him to her. Daryl barely had time to push his pants down over his ass before the head of his penis felt the scalding heat of her.

He looked into her half closed eyelids, heavy with passion as he pushed into her tight depths. He had never felt anything so pleasurable or so fulfilling.

"Carol," he whispered as she clasped him tightly with her inner walls and his hands held her hips as her back arched and he slid in deeper.

"I love you," she said as they moved together and she drew his lips to hers.

They whispered their love over and over to each other as the world stopped and it was just...them.


End file.
